Spam

Possible solutions and what is currently being done to combat the growing spam problem. Note: if you have been blocked, and think it is a mistake, please contact one of the system administrators russ_hensel, User:DavidCary or others ?

Spam Blacklist Extension

The first way that we can decrease the spam problem is by using a blacklist filtering approach. There is a widely used MediaWiki extension called Spam Blacklist that checks instances of URLs in new posts against a shared blacklist. If a match is found, posting is prevented.

On this server, this extension is currently configured to use the Mediawiki Spam Blacklist. However, if this proves insufficient, a local blacklist can also be created.

reCAPTCHA Extension

An additional method of preventing spam is to prevent automated posting. One method of doing this is through a CAPTCHA. A CAPTCHA is a reverse Turing Test that determines whether or not submissions and new user requests are coming from a human or not.

The implementation that has been put in place for Open Circuits makes use of the reCAPTCHA plugin. From the reCAPTCHA site:

By default, CAPTCHAs are triggered on the following events:

*New user registration
*Anonymous edits that contain new external links
*Brute-force password cracking

Other Suggestions

russ_hensel suggests that a first step is to require all users to register, when they spam ( hopefully never ) delete them.

I suggest that registred users that been around a longer time without spam incidents should not be subject to captcha. When doing lot's of edits, it's a real pain. Freqmax 16:04, 29 February 2008 (PST)

More material, perhaps should be merged? How Should We Deal With Spam